Bridie

She wanted to meet someone and get married and have a family and...

fall in love and be loved and we all love the happy ever afters and happy for everybody that gets the happy ever afters and she was one of them.

When we'd be younger she'd be saying oh have you any boyfriend to me and I'd be saying not yet now and you're older than me you're four years older than me you're the one that should be having them not me I'm too young yet and then when I'd be going to the discos when she'd come up on the Sunday night she'd be saying to me oh was there anybody nice last night or

And I'd be saying, oh, there was and there wasn't.

She wanted to hear all the gossip as to what went on.

And she was very happy for me when I met my husband and when I got married.

She was my bridesmaid and she was pregnant at the time.

There was no bitterness in her, there was no begrudgery, there was no everything, look what's happened to me.

There was no resentment towards other people.

She was happy for other people to be happy.

She was torn, definitely torn with that decision.

And she reassured us all because we had her daughter with us, between us all in my house and at home.

Mum and Dad would have her Monday to Friday.

And then I'd take her on Friday night and I'd have her until Sunday night.

And I'd give her back to them then on Sunday night.

So, of course, bonds had been formed and made.

I was at work and she rang me and said that when I'd finished work to go down to mum and dad and get her ready, that she was coming up in a taxi and she was having her adopted.

At the beginning, I suppose, there was a lot of different things, you know.

We thought, like, you have a great network of people around you, great support and, you know, we're all rowing in behind you.

I had no kids, like, I told her I'd take her and I'd rear her in my house and, you know...